


you took a part of me nobody else could break down

by darlingjustdont



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Slice of Life, a little bit of, bc it's me, discussions about super strength
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-24 21:55:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22005076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingjustdont/pseuds/darlingjustdont
Summary: the touching thing is weird. it’s fine, but it’s weird.m’gann’s not always so sure about what’s appropriate on earth, but superboy’s apprehension over touching her is strange.the problem is that he doesn’t reciprocate. sometimes it feels like he’s holding himself in check around her so he doesn’t accidentally make contact. it’s a mystery and it bothers her more than she cares to admit.m'gann tries to figure out conner kent and falls further in love in the process
Relationships: Kon-El | Conner Kent/M'gann M'orzz, background wally/artemis
Comments: 7
Kudos: 37





	you took a part of me nobody else could break down

**Author's Note:**

> this is a little thing i started writing all the way back a year ago after i started watching yj. i'm not incredibly pleased with how it turned out but ohhhh welllllll there's not enough conner/mgann fic so i'm here to make it mediocrely better 
> 
> many thanks to kassie for reassuring me it's not terrible <3 i love u!!
> 
> title taken from "moonwalking" by kwassa
> 
> enjoy xx

the touching thing is weird. it’s fine, but it’s weird. 

m’gann’s not always so sure about what’s appropriate on earth, but superboy’s apprehension over touching her is strange.

wally and robin touch people all the time, hanging over the team like they’re furniture. artemis doesn’t mind it but she’d rather not, not when she’s still so new on the team. m’gann understands that thought process, and she understands kaldur’s preference not to have contact with anyone if he can help it. something about it being too dry, she thinks. he doesn’t think about it directly so she’s just caught impressions. 

like she said: that’s fine. the preference isn’t the problem; she can deal with whatever superboy needs. he’s always startled when she brushes against him but he likes it, she can tell. (she swears she doesn’t listen to his thoughts but they’re often connected so she gets whisps.) 

the problem is that he doesn’t reciprocate. sometimes it feels like he’s holding himself in check around her so he doesn’t accidentally make contact. it’s a mystery and it bothers her more than she cares to admit. 

she puts down the bowl she’s washed and narrows her eyes at the back of his head. he’s watching some show on television. he does that a lot, like he’s drinking in all the things he missed when he was at cadmus. she’s moving almost before she realises it, toes skimming the floor, and drops lightly onto the sofa by his side. 

he blinks at her. 

“hi,” she says and leans against his side. “mind if i sit with you?” 

“uh… no?” 

“cool.” 

she can feel him still staring at her but she keeps her eyes determinedly on the tv. he shifts, the tiniest bit, and she slumps further into him. his body’s not like wally’s or robin’s or artemis’, soft and giving. it doesn’t move for her, just kind of stays there. 

“do you… need a pillow?” he asks after a moment. his arm is tense, caught somewhere under hers. 

“i’m fine,” she says back and looks up at his face. his eyebrows are pulled together. “are you okay?” 

“i’m fine,” he replies after a moment. “my hand’s falling asleep though.” 

she didn’t even know superboy’s arms _could_ fall asleep. she assumed perfect circulation came with the gig. “really?” 

there’s a ghost of a smile on his face. “no. it’s just a little uncomfortable.” 

she moves so he can extract his limb. he hovers for a moment, uncertain where to put it. he settles on his leg but it doesn’t look comfortable either. 

“you can—” she cuts herself off in favor of showing him, wrapping her fingers around his wrist and wrapping his arm around her. his hand ends up dangling by her shoulder. “is that okay?” if it were anyone else, she’d reach out to brush her mind against theirs, feel the color of their emotions. but it’s superboy and he wants to give permission before he lets her in. she respects that. 

“um. yes?” 

m’gann is determined figure this out. “do you not like being touched?” 

“no, it’s fine,” he says, tone neutral. he’s holding himself a little above her skin, muscles bunched. she must be frowning because he sighs a little. “i like human contact, m’gann.” 

“neither of us are human.” 

“you know what i mean.” 

“i can move if you don’t like it.”

he sighs again, relaxes minutely and curves his arm around her shoulders, drawing her in. his body still doesn’t give against her-- maybe because he’s indestructible?-- but he’s not rammod-straight on the couch. 

“i like it,” he tells her. she’d hum with pleasure if it wouldn’t give her away. 

he still won’t touch her, though. he’ll accept it when she’s affectionate but won’t return it and it’s _annoying._

it’s not even because of the stupid crush. like, yes, maybe she wouldn’t be _quite_ so fixated on this whole thing if she didn’t blush every time he looked her way, but she’s pretty sure she’d be ticked anyway. m’gann has always liked puzzles and this is a big one. 

she follows artemis into her room after the mission, drifting because she’s distracted and only slightly noticing the looks artemis is giving her.

“can i help you?” 

“i have a question,” m’gann says. artemis raises her eyebrows. 

“i don’t know if i’m the right person to ask.” 

“it’s about a boy.” 

“okay, i’m _really_ not the right person to ask. i don’t have much experience in that department--” 

“wait,” m’gann says and artemis stops edging towards the door. “first, it’s not what you’re thinking. two, even if it _was_ , you definitely have more experience in earth boys than i do. oh, and third, who else would i ask? robin? wally?” 

“i don’t know. not me,” artemis says and comes over and sits on the bed. “so an earth boy?” 

“sort of.” 

“wally is all yours if you want him.” she’s got her face scrunched up in disgust but m’gann has a strong suspicion artemis would not be happy if she wanted wally. she doesn’t say anything to artemis about it, though. artemis isn’t ready to hear that. 

“i don’t think you understand what i want to ask.” 

“then _ask_.” 

m’gann plays with the cover on artemis’ bed, tracing one of the designs with her fingers. “does superboy ever touch you?” 

artemis freezes. “i don’t know how to answer that question.” 

“not like-- you know how you were so uneasy around us at the beginning? you’d jump when robin tried to hug you.” 

“i didn’t--” 

“and then you became okay with it, a little. well, a lot with me. the boys sometimes still make you jump.” 

artemis tugs out her ponytail, letting her hair fall down her back. “i don’t know whether to blame your mind reading for this or not.” 

“i’m observant,” says m’gann.

“hmm.” 

“your mind can be very loud when you’re startled. i don’t listen but sometimes things slip through.” 

“don’t know if i like that,” mutters artemis, making a face. “but you were talking about superboy?” 

m’gann goes back to drawing on the bed and tries to sort out her thoughts. “it’s just something i noticed. he’s very careful.” 

“careful is not the word i’d pick to describe him. impulsive, yes. careful… not so much.” 

“no, i’m serious. watch him around people. he doesn’t touch them. he lets himself be touched but he won’t make the first move.” 

something sparks in artemis’ eyes and it makes m’gann uneasy, worried about what’s going to come out of her mouth next. “oh, so _that’s_ what you’re getting at. you’re upset because he won’t _make the first move._ ”

m’gann narrows her eyes at her. “that’s not what this is about.” 

“isn’t it?” artemis asks smugly and m’gann is not blushing, she’s _not._ “miss martian’s got a crush on superb—” m’gann cuts her off by putting her hand over artemis’ mouth. it’s a reflex but she’s instantly sorry she’s done it, carefully moving her palm and trying to ignore the sudden tenseness in artemis’ jaw. 

“i’m sorry.”

“it’s fine,” says artemis. after a second, she relaxes. “really fine.”

“i won’t do that again.”

“i won’t tease you again.” she tip her head. “even if it’s true.”

“this isn’t about how i feel. it’s about how he feels and why he’s being strange,” m’gann insists. artemis flops down on her back, rubbing at her face with her hands. 

“i don’t know, megan. maybe he just doesn’t like to touch people. maybe that’s his kryptonite.”

“kryptonite is his kryptonite.”

“didn’t they teach you about metaphors on mars?”

“not stupid ones.”

artemis laughs, rolling over on her side so her head’s on the pillow. “you’ve been hanging around superboy too much.”

“just a normal amount!” she says but artemis is already blinking heavily, nestling down into her bed. m’gann knows a dismissal when she sees one, so she begrudgingly gets to her feet. 

she’s tired too, the weight of the mission catching up with her now that the adrenaline’s has time to settle. leaving artemis in bed, m’gann leaves quietly and pauses when she notices superboy’s door ajar. 

he’s lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. his shirt’s rucked up around his ribs like he’s too lazy to pull it down, and something about the casualness of it all makes m’gann feel weird. 

_miss martian’s got a crush on superboy._

“you can come in, you know.”

she jumps, refocuses to see superboy’s tipped his head to the side and is watching her. 

watching her zone out while staring at him. her blush gets hotter. 

“i don’t want to intrude.”

he shrugs, sitting up and to the side so there’s a clear space for her. she only hesitates for a second before climbing up. 

his room is nice but a little empty, devoid of all the things she imagines teen boys would have in their room. absent of personality, of warmth. it makes her sad. 

“some mission, huh,” he says after a moment of almost awkward silence. 

“i’ve had worse. are you sore from where you got hit?” 

“a little.” 

“are you bruised?” 

he winces the tiniest bit, his hand twitching towards his side. “yeah. you?” 

“a few.” she pushes her sleeve up and shows him the marks on her skin. they look weird on the green, yellow instead of blue. “mostly from blocking.” 

“what happened there?” he points to one by her elbow and she thinks for a second. 

“oh, i think i walked into a door.” 

“you did what?” 

m’gann blushes a tiny bit, this stupid thing she can’t stop doing in his presence. she hates it. “i, uh, didn’t judge space well and knocked my elbow on the handle.”

“and that gave you a bruise?” there’s something in his voice she can’t read. she glances up to see his expression’s stony again, a little bit angry. she frowns. 

“yeah. i bruise easily.”

he leans away from her, the tiniest bit, and pulls his leg up onto the bed. “you bruise easily.” 

“is that a problem?” 

“no. you know you could punch me as hard as you could and i wouldn’t feel it, let alone bruise.” 

“i don’t think that’s totally right. i’ve gotten better at punching.” 

he snorts. “better, meaning you can land one now?” 

m’gann squints at him for a minute, taking in the blank expression on his face. “superboy, are you _teasing_ me?” 

“no,” he says but it’s too casual. she elbows him in the ribs. 

“you are. oh, wally’s going to be so impressed.” 

“that i was teasing you?” superboy’s mouth twitches. “highly unlikely.” 

she chooses to ignore this, sliding down on the bed and blinking heavily. “that you were joking at all. i’m pretty sure he thinks you were born without a sense of humor.” 

“maybe i was.”

“it worries him.” 

superboy looks at her sideways. “he’s worried about me?” 

“‘course,” she says around a yawn. “he’s your teammate and he likes to tease, so he’s worried you won’t see it as him being nice.” 

“how do you know that?” 

she leans against him slightly, ignoring the way he goes rigid. “he thinks about it a lot. robin too, but wally the most.” 

superboy is warm and his shirt is soft under her cheek. she didn’t think she was tired but she’s getting sleepy, her limbs getting heavier. 

“m’gann, what are you doing?” 

“napping,” she mumbles but it’s probably swallowed up by his shoulder. he makes a sound that could either be a laugh or a growl. 

“you can’t just fall asleep on me.” 

“too late.” 

he makes another annoyed sound but in the sleepiness, in the closeness, her mind opens up and catches the tail end of his. it’s quiet and happy, some low thrum of smugness there as well. she tries to grab hold of the feeling, tug it out so she can examine what’s going through his head, but she topples into unconsciousness instead. 

she wakes up in a bed that’s not her own, staring groggily at an empty room. it’s quiet in that early morning way but she can hear someone rummaging out in the kitchen. rolling out of the bed that’s not hers, she peeks into the main room and spots robin sitting on the counter. he’s got a bowl of cereal in his hands and he’s looking pleased with himself. 

“morning,” he says, waving his spoon in her direction. 

“why are you here so early?” 

“batman had something he had to do, so i came here instead.” 

“batman goes out in the daylight?” 

robin frowns at her over his bowl. “you’ve seen him during the day, m’gann.” 

“he’s the dark knight.” 

“exactly. he’s not a vampire,” says robin and sticks a spoonful in his mouth. m’gann opens the fridge and thinks for a minute, deciding what to make. they’ve got the stuff for pancakes and those are always popular. 

“would you like it if i made pancakes?” 

“heck yeah!” robin crows and freezes when a growl drifts over from the sofas. m’gann cranes her head and catches sight of a black head of hair. “oops.” 

“is that superboy?” she asks. 

“yeah. got any reason why he slept out here instead of his bed?” there’s a hint of teasing in robin’s voice, one she doesn’t really want to push. she looks back into the fridge and pulls out eggs instead, the mixing bowl flying out of the cupboard. robin snatches it out of the air. 

“maybe he got restless? sometimes it’s easier for me to sleep in different places.” 

“it’s also easier to sleep when you’re not sharing a twin bed.” 

m’gann shuts the fridge door. “it was an accident. he could’ve woken me up.” 

robin holds his hands up in surrender and moves out of the way so she can use the counter space. 

“why were you in his bed anyway?” 

“we were talking and i fell asleep.” 

“oh. talking.” 

m’gann points a spoon at him threateningly. “don’t, or i will make your pancakes salty _on purpose._ ” 

“leave her alone, rob,” artemis says as she comes in the room, scrubbing a hand over her face. robin squawks in outrage. 

“you don’t even know what we were talking about!” 

“yeah, but i know _you_.” 

“fair enough,” says robin as the zeta tube whirrs, announcing wally’s entrance. artemis scowls. 

“why is he here?” 

“i told him megan’s making pancakes.” 

“better quintuple the recipe, then,” artemis mutters under her breath as wally comes in, looking far too excited for this early in the morning. “don’t your parents make you food?” 

“having two breakfasts is not a crime,” wally tells her and winks at m’gann. “the crime would be missing megalicious’ amazing cooking.” 

“actually, it’s making m’gann cook three times as much as she usually does because she has to fill your bottomless stomach.” 

“you don’t mind, do you beautiful?” 

“i don’t mind,” m’gann answers, laughing. artemis’ scowl gets deeper. 

“you don’t even pay _rent._ ” 

“neither do you,” wally argues and artemis looks like she might strangle him. 

“would you two shut up,” superboy yells from the sofa, propping his head up to glare at them. “i am _trying_ to sleep.”

_robin,_ m’gann warns, because he’s got that tenseness in his boy that exudes mischievousness. _don’t._

robin sends her a passably-innocent look. _i wasn’t going to say anything!_

“why are you on the couch, dude?” asks wally and superboy’s answer is lost in his pillow. 

m’gann finishes mixing up the batter and sets the stove to heating up, starting the coffee pot absentmindedly. kaldur’s probably almost done with his morning swim and he’ll enjoy a ready cup, and maybe it’ll make superboy a little happier. 

the rest are still chatting behind her but she tunes it out into a little, focusing on the steady movements of frying pancakes. the stack beside her elbow grows and grows, warm and steaming. 

“those smell nice,” superboy says right next to her, making her drip batter all over when she jumps. 

“they’re just pancakes,” she answers and turns towards him. he’s got his hands wrapped around a mug and there’s a pillow crease on his cheek. “sorry for kicking you out of your bed last night.”

“it’s fine,” he says and takes a sip. “i was fine out here.”

“you could’ve woken me up.”

“it’s fine,” he repeats and she twines her fingers together, nervous. 

“you could’ve slept in _my_ bed instead. i wouldn’t have minded.”

he jerks his chin at the stove. “they’re burning.”

“hello megan!” she saves them, but only just. it’s all good; wally will still eat them. wally, who is loudly arguing with artemis again. “how long do you think it’ll take for them to realize,” she mutters, mostly to herself, but superboy gives her a strange look. 

“what?”

“artemis and wally.”

“artemis and wally _what?”_

she squints at him. “can’t you see it?”

“you’re confusing me,” he says and here’s a tremor of anger in his voice. 

“they like each other.”

he glances over his shoulder and then back at her. “they’re about two seconds from killing each other. i don’t think i’ve ever seen them have a conversation without fighting.”

“exactly.”

his fingers tighten on the mug and there’s a squeak from the porcelain. “girls,” he hisses. m’gann’s pretty sure there’s a crack where there wasn’t one before. “that doesn’t make sense.”

she wraps a hand around his wrist, guiding it to the counter so he can set the mug down. he lets her lead. 

“it’s easier if i just show you. can i…” she gestures to her head, all too aware of the group within earshot. a muscle ticks once in superboy’s jaw but curiosity wins out. he nods. 

she reaches out with her mind to his, very carefully keeping to the edges of his consciousness. it’s an exchange, not an invasion. still, he flinches at first contact, throwing up walls so she can’t read anything. they’re mostly useless but she respects it anyway, hovering at the border and passing along images. 

_this is just them fighting,_ he says, unimpressed. 

_i know, i know. but it’s a special kind of fighting._

_this is stupid_. _romance is stupid._

she very carefully does not let any of her emotion bleed through. _it’s just how they work._

“your pancakes are burning again,” he says out loud and she swears under her breath, pulling the frying pan off the stove. she snags it with her fingers, burning the tips, and tears it in half. 

“share?” he takes it after a second’s hesitation and doesn’t flinch at the heat. it’s not bad, even for being burned. she’s pleased with herself. “i’m getting better at this cooking thing.” 

“there’s not much to improve.” 

“you’re sweet,” she tells him. “thank you.” 

she waves the pancakes onto the table and the rest of the team crowd around, jostling for the best seat and smacking wally’s hands out of the way. kaldur appears in the door, pulled in by the promise of food, still smelling like the ocean. 

“how was it out there?” m’gann asks as she passes him a mug. he smiles his thanks. 

“pleasant, as always. i see kid flash and robin have joined us.” 

“i think they were bored.” 

superboy laughs. “hungry, more like it.” he stretches his arms above his head and ambles over to grab his own breakfast. m’gann watches him go. 

“you’re good for him,” kaldur says quietly and she jumps. 

“what?” 

“superboy. you’re good for him. you seem to mellow him out. the rest of the team as well.” he takes a drink of his coffee and then looks back at her. “you have a calming presence.” 

“i don’t… thank you?”

“i’m very glad you are here with us.” 

“flattery doesn’t work on me, kaldur,” she teases and it makes him laugh. “i’m not making you more pancakes if you don’t get there in time.” 

“consider me warned.” 

superboy’s still on the couch later, staring blankly at the staticy screen. it’s not broken, she doesn’t think. maybe he doesn’t know how to work it?

“would you… like me to turn that on?” 

“no,” he answers, voice rough like he’s been caught out. she raises an eyebrow. 

“well, would you like to help me make dinner?” 

“no,” he repeats stubbornly but comes into the kitchen anyway. she gives him a smile and starts listing off the ingredients, getting caught up in what she needs and not paying attention to where it goes. a clang finally breaks through her thoughts. she turns, taking in superboy covered in eggs and tomatoes, a bowl on his head, and an expression halfway between annoyance and bewilderment. 

_shit._

he drops the milk as she says oops, catching hold of a dishcloth and running up to him. he still hasn’t said anything, still hasn’t smiled and she finds herself tripping over her words as she desperately tries to fix her mistake. 

“i’m so sorry; i should’ve paid more attention. it was too much at once, too much at once, hel _lo_ megan, that’s so me--i… uh.” 

she knows she’s staring but he’s staring too and she can’t quite look away. he doesn’t move either, lets her pat at his face. he still hasn’t said anything but there’s no anger when he looks down at her, only an interest. it sparks on her skin, that look, and if his hands weren’t at his sides she would swear he was touching her. 

she’s kissing him in the space between one heartbeat and the next, the dishcloth still wound around her palm and her fingers wound in his hair. there’s still egg there but she doesn’t care. he kisses her back, hesitantly, his own hands come up to rest on her shoulders. they’re heavy and warm, his thumbs dipping down in the dip of her collarbones, and she feel those sparks again. 

it’s over in a few seconds, the heat of his palms disappearing from her skin and his mouth pulling away from hers. 

“uh,” she says dumbly because she might be seeing stars, a tiny bit. he’s got red dusting his cheeks and she’s sure she’s pink too. “uh.” 

he doesn’t let her find her words, shuffles back a half step and turning on his heel. he sits back on the sofa with his back to her, still dripping in the dumb dinner ingredients she’d accidentally dumped on him. feeling a bit like she’s been stunned, she turns back to chopping the vegetables and listens to the television static.

it’s only later that she realised he hadn’t just allowed himself to be touched, but he had touched her himself. 

she pushes the whole awkward moment out of her mind. they’re a team before they’re anything else, and she will _not_ have superboy mess that up for her. she likes it here with these people. 

they act like normal. except, superboy makes faces when wally flirts outrageously and superboy thinks he can get away with it. m’gann notices, she always does. 

and then comes the disastrous mission in biyalia. her head hurts and her mind’s all jumbled and she loses herself a little because he’s in pain. it’s a physical thing, even in her thoughts, like electricity shooting off in her skull. later, she’ll feel guilty for abandoning the rest of the team, but for now she needs it all to _stop._

psymon is strong. he takes up so much mental space in her head, crowding her out. she can feel herself folding smaller, cracking under the weight of his presence, but if she gives in it’s the end for the rest of her team too. 

distantly, she can feel her hand being held and suddenly there’s a third person there, a third person invited into her mind. 

she can’t help the thrill of relief when she recognizes conner floating beside her, mindless and angry but _present_. psymon laughs at her, laughs at the thought of conner saving her. but he’s not going to save her, she’s going to save _him._

his face is wide and guileless when she takes his face in her hands, presses their foreheads together, and floods his brain with images. she pours in all the love she carries for him, all the love the team has, and all the love he has for them in return. she crowds out the violence, the hatred, and worms her way into his heart instead. they land on that moment in the kitchen, the quietness that hummed between them, and the _excitedscaredhappy_ feeling that accompanied it. 

he blinks and she retreats, giving him space to breathe. he blinks and his face shifts from blank to proud, cold to warm. 

“kick his butt,” he tells her, certainty embedded in every word, and slips from her mind. she can feel his intent as he leaves, feels him determined to protect her body as she protects the rest of them. 

she tries, but psymon got her wrapped up in a ball, crowding her in again. she can’t breathe. she can’t move. 

her hands twitch and there’s a flash of heat, skin against skin, and superboy is there again. she hangs onto his hand for dear life. 

“he’s too strong,” m’gann says and it aches to say the words. superboy’s fingers flex in hers. 

“you’re strong,” he says fiercely, voice rough with some emotion she can’t place right now, “and i’m stubborn. together.”

she looks at him, his eyebrows crinkled together in a scowl, and god, she loves him. she loves them all. 

“together,” she agrees and pushes their hands towards psymon. “get. out. of my. _head_.”

she puts all her anger into those words, her fear, her refusal to let him win, and it cracks across his skin like glass shattering. she can feel it do the same in his mind until his hold on her releases. with nothing to push back, her mind spreads out until it’s too thin. 

the world goes black. 

she wakes up to a worried superboy carefully watching every twitch of her face. blinking a few times, her gaze catches on his and holds. he’s got his arm around her and she’s crushed to his chest in a way that should make her blush. she doesn’t, still too woozy, and superboy’s face softens. he smiles at her and his fingers come up to her cheek, soft and careful. 

he’s going to kiss her. he’s going to kiss her and she might pass out because she’s dizzy and her mind hurts and his hand is so so warm against her cheek. 

they’re interrupted by a frenetic beeping and superboy looks up and away from her. 

“can i keep it?” he asks and it’s so childlike that she can only laugh, tucking her head into his chest and laughing until her stomach aches. 

he’s much more okay with her mind in his now. he doesn’t shy away from it, seeks her out even. she could float every time it happens, if that wouldn’t give her away. 

they watch a movie on the night after their first week at school, superboy— _conner_ — stiff as a board and her curled up in a corner. she’s already been to practice and back, her muscles sore with that tired sort of ache exercise brings.

“do you really like it?” she asks quietly when the heroes on the screen are busy punching things. superboy looks at her sideways. 

“like what?”

“your name,” she says, even though there are so many things she could put in there instead. “conner kent. i… i don’t want you to hate it because you’re stuck with it now.”

“i don’t hate it,” he says shortly. weeks ago, she’d read it as annoyance but she knows him better now, knows it’s less annoyance and more uncertainty. 

“are you sure?”

“i don’t hate it,” he repeats and it’s a little more forceful this time. she dips her fingers into his mind just to check. “m’gann.”

“i’m just making sure!”

“don’t you trust me?” he asks, mostly teasing. at least she thinks he’s teasing. 

“i trust you,” she grumbles and slips down the couch. 

“what happened to your shoulder?”

she gingerly touches the bruise blooming there. “i was out of formation during practice. i got hit during a routine.”

“you should be more careful,” he says after a moment, his eyebrows pushed together like they do when he’s thinking.

“it was an accident,” she tells him. “you can’t protect me from everything, you know.”

“obviously,” he says, his eyes finding the bruise again. 

“if i lean against you, are you going to freak out?”

“no?”

“okay,” she says and tips against him. he lifts his arm automatically and she pulls it down so it’s across her shoulders again. “much better.”

“this is more comfortable?”

“mmhm. you’re warm.”

she can feel the laughter rumble in his chest. it’s a nice feeling. “i can go get you a blanket.”

“nope,” she replies and catches his hand so he can’t get up. “this is fine.”

they sit there for a while, watching the movie but not really following, before she speaks again. 

“i don’t understand.”

“the movie? i can rewind it for you.”

“no, not the— not the movie. why don’t you like touching people?”

there’s a couple of beats of silence. “i’m sorry, what?”

“it’s something i’ve noticed. you… shy away from everyone.” 

“you’re halfway in my lap right now,” he says and there’s a dryness to his tone that speaks to too much time with the boys. she goes pink, just a little. 

“do you want me to move?” 

the hand that’s caught in both of hers twitches. “i said you could sit here, didn’t i?” 

she determinedly keeps away from his mind this time, not sure she could handle the taste of rejection that might be there. 

“i have to initiate everything,” she says after a second, after a deep breath. she frowns. “ _have to_ is the wrong phrase. but what i’m saying is you won’t touch me-- touch _anyone_ \-- first. and i was just wondering why… that was.” her voice trails off halfway through, insecurity stealing her voice away for a minute. 

he’s still staring straight ahead and she can see his profile so clearly, see the way his eyebrows are still bunched and his jaw is set. 

“i didn’t mean--” she starts, wild, without any plan to finish the sentence. recoiling, she shrugs his arm away and makes to leave, to run away from the mortifying experience. god, she can never show her face again here. she wonders if uncle j’onn will let her move back to mars, or if she can live with artemis, or--

“m’gann, wait,” conner calls out and it freezes her in place, as easily as if he’d caught her by the waist and pulled her to a stop. he’s still by the couch, on his feet with his arms folded and he’s still frowning and _fuck_ , m’gann is going to melt away from sheer embarrassment. “i have superman’s powers.” 

she blinks at him for a second and he looks back, like that’s supposed to mean something.

“i know?” 

“that means i have super strength.” 

“yeah,” she says and now she’s frowning too, embarrassment still tingeing her cheeks but now there’s a puzzle to solve. “i know that too.”

conner shakes his head, scowling like she’s missed something huge, like he’s getting angry. 

“i don’t understand. what does that have to do with anything?” 

“you already have so many bruises.” 

“i bruise easily.” 

his scowl gets deeper, more miserable, more angry. “i don’t want to give you bruises. or, anyone, but uh--” he ducks his head a tiny bit, looking at the floor instead of her. “but especially you.” 

“conner, you-- you couldn’t hurt me.” 

his hand shoots out and there’s a crack, loud in the silence of the room. she turns to where he punched the wall and looks at the hole clean through. 

“see?” he says, voice low. “i could. i wouldn’t even know i was doing it.”

“i’m pretty sure—”

“i’m not. it’s so easy to misjudge.”

m’gann looks at him for a long time, the way he’s still scowling and how he’s flexing his hand unconsciously. something in her chest swells. 

“well, do you want to hurt me? or any of the team?”

“no,” he mumbles to the floor. 

“okay. then you won’t.”

his gaze flashes up, eyes angry. “it’s not that simple.”

“sure it is.”

“m’gann, you don’t know—”

“i could hurt you too, you know. like, mentally. i could force my way into your brain and scramble your thoughts up. but i’m not going to do that, because it’s wrong and i choose not to hurt people. it’s the same for you.”

“it would be an accident,” he nearly shouts. “i would lose my temper and push too hard and you’d— you’d snap.”

she takes two steps towards him, her feet not touching the floor, giving her that much more height to look up into his face. 

“i am not as fragile as you think i am,” she says quietly. he closes his eyes. 

“you are.”

“you’re not a monster, conner.”

“what if i am?” he asks, so quietly she almost doesn’t hear. it makes her heart ache, thudding painfully behind her lungs, and she surges forward to wrap her arms around his chest. 

“you’re not,” she says into the kryptonian symbol on his shirt. “you could never be.”

“m’gann—”

“you don’t have to hug me back if you’re scared, but i’m not going to stop. humans need the physical constant when they’re upset.”

ever-so-gently, he wraps his arms around her in a loose hold and rests the top of his head on hers. “i’m not human,” he says into her hair. 

“you’re half human. that part needs this.”

“hey conner, have you seen— _whoa_ ,” artemis says loudly, skidding to a stop as soon as she comes into the room. m’gann and conner both turn to look at her, snapping their arms back and putting a respectable distance between them. a smile starts to grow on artemis’ face. 

“what?” 

“oh, nothing. i was just wondering if you had seen megan. hel _lo_ , megan,” she sings and m’gann wants to hide her face in conner’s shirt and never come out. 

“hi, artemis,” she says back. her cheeks feel like they’re on fire. “what do you need.”

“it’s not that important. i can come back later.”

“no, it’s fine. we were just, uh. having a conversation.”

artemis’ eyebrows go up almost to her hairline, that dumb grin still on her face. “oh a conversation, huh? it looks very… intimate.”

“it was just a hug, arty,” conner huffs, his patience finally running out, and he pushes past them both to the door. they both watch him go, artemis’ head swinging back towards m’gann as soon as he’s out of sight.

“okay, miss martian. spill.”

“he needed a hug?”

“mmmhm, and is that all?”

“yes, that’s all. i promise, it’s all. there’s nothing happening because we’re just friends and he was upset about something so i was trying to help. that is all,” she rattles off unconvincingly, watching artemis’ smirk get more amused. 

“oooooh-kay,” she says when m’gann finally shuts her mouth. “but i cannot _wait_ to see wally’s face when he finds out. can i take a picture? it’s gonna be my phone background for ever.”

“there’s nothing for him to find out.”

“so you’ve said.”

“it’s the truth,” insists m’gann. 

“i believe you,” artemis says in a tone that made it very clear that she does not. “anyway, i came to hear about your first week of earth school. bet it was better than mine at this prissy gotham academy i’m going to now. there’s this twerp who just _jumped_ in front of me my first day and took a picture! how strange is that?”

conner looks good as a blond. m’gann has the sneaking suspicion that he’s look good in anything, those damn superman genes at work, but he does look nice. she still prefers him as a brunett. 

smoothing her hands down her body, she takes in a deep breath. they’re infiltrating belle reve, just the two of them, and there’s something terrifying about it. she’s used to having the strength of the whole team at her back and while conner is strong, he’s not everyone. 

kaldur looks at her fidgeting and something in his expression softens. 

“you do not need to be nervous, megan,” he says in that voice that is always so soothing. “you will do very well. i have faith in you.”

“i don’t see why we couldn’t have you thrown in with us, just as backup. you could’ve been a double agent.”

he smiles. “perhaps next time.”

“yeah,” she says around a breath. “next time.”

conner looks over from where he’s conferring with robin. he looks harder in his disguise, more dangerous. he does a double take when he sees her, a tiny one. 

“m’gann?” he asks when she moves closer, kaldur behind her. “is that you?”

“in the flesh! well, kind of.”

“i didn’t recognize you.”

“isn’t that the point?” robin asks from behind his glasses. “you’re impersonating the trouble twins.”

“well yeah, but…”

“it’s a shock,” m’gann finishes. 

“it’s _weird_ ,” conner adds, a little bit grumpy. robin laughs his signature cackle and it’s warm in its familiarity, sinks into her bones and makes her smile. 

“it is almost time,” kaldur says solemnly. “are you both ready?”

impulsively, she grabs hold of conner’s hand and squeezes hard. his fingers twitch but, after a second, he squeezes back with the tiniest amount of pressure possible. 

“ready,” they say in unison. 

m’gann is used to the cold but this is unexpected; she’s not prepared for the bite after so long on earth and all she can do is hold her breath as she gets swept up in the ice blast. she’s forgotten how much it can hurt to be freezing, and it makes her mind fracture for a second. her thoughts swirl out, incoherent and spiraling. she can survive in the cold but not if her blood freezes solid and all of her is desperate to be released. 

_m’gann, please_

that voice is warm in her head, hands toasting on an open fire, a thick pair of socks, cookies straight out of the oven, and it seeps through her body until she remembers what to do. 

the ice explodes out, first with a tentative crack and then all shattering. the first rush of non-frozen air slices at her skin and she suck in a ragged breath, pushing herself upright after a moment. the hands that help her up are so warm it’s almost shocking on her cold body, hot as a brand on her shoulders. she doesn’t flinch. 

“are you--” conner asks, worried. 

“it’s pretty cold where i come from,” says m’gann and he moves his hand up to her face, cupping her jaw. it’s a familiar feeling, a familiar comfort. “i’ll be alrigh--” 

he cuts her off before she can finish her sentence, covering her mouth with his. it makes her freeze for a minute, surprise rushing through her body only to be chased out with the glow of happiness, the realisation that this is happening. everything else fades away, like a movie, narrowed down to her and conner and the press of his lips to hers. 

later, he’s sprawled out on his bed and she’s sprawled on his chest, enjoying the lazy circles he’s drawing on her back. it’s so gentle she could cry, happy and safe and comfortable. 

“you’re not scared anymore,” she mumbles and his fingers pause. 

“hmm?” 

“you used to be so reserved all the time around us and now you’re… not.” 

“i’m not,” conner agrees, resuming his movements. “you’re not scared of me, either.” 

“i was never.” 

“i thought you would be.” 

she presses a kiss to his chest, to the fabric right over his heart. “i wasn’t. i knew you couldn’t hurt me, or anyone.”

“yeah?” 

“yeah,” she says around a sigh and she feels a laugh start in his stomach, bubbling up and jostling her a little. 

“m’gann, you can’t keep falling asleep on me.” 

“too late.” 

“you keep doing this.” 

she blinks and lets her eyelids slide closed, humming contentedly. “but you’re so comfortable and warm.” 

“i am not a bed,” he tells her, amusement ringing through his voice. 

“no, but you are my boyfriend. it comes with the territory.” 

“does it now.” 

“it does, i’ve just decided.” 

she drifts off to the sound of his quiet laughter and his fingers running through her hair, slowly and softly so they don’t snag on tangles, so happy she might just explode from it all. 

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed that!! thanks for reading!! i'm over at @bigbrotherlouis on tumblr if you ever want to talk about batfam or young justice or really anything at all


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